Something to Fight For
by UniverseDreams
Summary: Pepper is the one thing Tony can't live without. He'd do anything, give anything to protect her - even his life. When a routine mission turns deadly and Pepper's life is threatened, Tony has to make a choice. With everything he cares about on the line, can he find a way to get out of this mess and save them both? Or is this a battle that he won't be able to win? IM3-inspired.


**Author's note: **Here's my second fic for Iron Man 3 I'm writing before I go and see the movie. First of all, I want to thank all my wonderful readers and reviewers from my last Iron Man story, "To Protect." It got over 500 views on the first day, from readers in 54 different countries! That's awesome and I'm so amazed, so thanks everyone! :)

Back to this fic, this story's idea actually happened along before the other one, after seeing the first trailer back in January. With seeing the second trailer, comic info, and TV spots for the movie since then, I know now that this is not how the scenes happen at all. But obviously, being correct isn't the point of these two one-shots. I'm writing the way I thought the story might happen when I first saw the new footage (though I did use Aldrich Killian to play the villain here; don't know how close my version is compared to the actual character). So, enjoy. :P Title of the story is named after the song by Sencit Music used in the majority of the first IM3 trailer. It's one of my favorite songs now. Some of my readers were wondering whether this fic was going to be in the same continuity as "To Protect"...I'd have to answer: yes, it is, further down the road in the storyline. :) And, as usual, story's rated T for Tony's language.

One more note: In one of my headcanons for Iron Man, as of Iron Man 3, Tony makes his arc reactor more intricately embedded in his chest, in which there is a process of disconnecting it from his body that he controls with his mind before he's able to turn it and take it out. Redundancies to prevent another episode like with Obadiah, if you will, and so it would require a complex procedure for someone else to remove it without damaging him or the reactor.

I'll finally be going to the premiere of Iron Man 3 in about twelve hours, and I'm so excited! As I mentioned in the other story, I'm wearing my Ironette gloves, arc reactor top, and bringing my Mark III action figure along. Massive Iron Man fangirl over here, people. :D

Disclaimer: I do not own Iron Man or any of the characters (although I wish I did). The only thing that belongs to me is this story.

* * *

_It was supposed to be a simple mission._

These words echoed through Tony's mind as he barreled through the sky in his Iron Man armor, narrowly avoiding another drone's missile. There was a series of peace talks being given by the president that they absolutely had to attend, Pepper had said that morning, before he was even out of bed. Really, he had just wanted to blow it off and leave it for Rhodey to handle. After all, Rhodey was at the top of the U.S. military now, commanding the forces with his new and improved Iron Patriot suit. But somehow (as usual), Pepper convinced him that they should go as well to provide extra protection, and so they went. It seemed simple enough: Take the company Stark jet to Washington D.C. Stand in the shadows while the meetings were going on and be ready to jump in and protect the president. It wasn't even a true mission, more like just a vacation.

'_Simple mission, my ass,' _Tony thought, dipping low as his sensors showed him another drone had locked on. He allowed it chase him and hone in, letting it get real close before he fired a boost from his boot-jets, whipped around in a one-eighty, and hit the drone with a repulsor blast, blowing it into dust. These things were never simple. There was always something that happened. Always a snafu. This time, it was in the form of a well-timed explosive device lodged into the door of the Stark jet – he was still angry, how could he have missed that? – that waited until they were over the ocean to blow the cockpit door and subsequently all twelve passengers that were on the plane into the air.

Which is why he always took one of his suits with him whenever he traveled, in this case, the most sophisticated armor he had created to date, the Mark XLII. First Monaco, then New York, and now this. Luckily, they were still close enough to land and he had been able to rescue the passengers, including Pepper and Rhodey, and get them safely back to the ground at the airstrip where they had taken off. But as he landed the last of them, several gunships appeared in the sky and an army of fully-flight-capable and heavily-armed drones swarmed him and he was forced into combat mode. A red light flashed on the left of his battle HUD and Tony swore under his breath as he swerved to avoid a drone that suddenly appeared on his three. He should have known the trip was a bad idea. He should have known some kind of enemy would show up here. But it was too late for retrospect now. He was in the middle of a battle, and with people he cared about so close to the action, he had to destroy these things and get the job done fast.

"JARVIS, I don't have time to screw around with these guys," Tony barked into the comm. "There's at least a hundred out here with more still coming. Give me an aerial map and track each drone's movement. Let's take 'em out."

"_With pleasure, sir,_" his A.I. replied at the ready.

Tony swiveled through the air, leading the pack of drones behind him in a wild flurry of dynamic aerial maneuvers. He fired repulsors while spinning, destroying the drones that flanked him on the sides, then turned out of the spin and launched into a high, vertical climb. Thirteen of the drones followed. Just what he wanted. He ascended for several hundred feet, getting a good distance between him and the drones, and then briefly cut repulsors as he flipped downward, heading directly toward them. He swiped his left arm in a half-arc in front of him, delivering a short, but powerful laser blast across the enemy pursuers. He skirted around the explosions and watched as the drones' signals flickered out on his screen. Thirteen more down. A small click sounded on the display and Tony's attention shifted to a single drone far ahead of him as it altered its flight path straight for him, aiming to crash into him head-on. Like that was going to happen. As the drone entered within range, he pulled up and obliterated it with a blast from his chest RT, flying through the resulting explosion. Another drone drew up above him, firing its guns. Tony turned onto his back and shot a repulsor beam, hitting his mark. The resulting blast caught another drone, sending them both crashing into the water below. For a few seconds there was a lull, but then a pack of twenty drones swooped in behind him and tons more firepower came his way. What he wouldn't give for the rest of the suits in his iron legion right about now. Oh well, he had more than plenty of worthy tech right here at his disposal. The flaps in the tops of his shoulder armor opened and his newest and upgraded guided missiles deployed, each twisting swiftly through the air seeking its target. The twenty drones didn't stand a chance. They shattered and exploded intensely into a million pieces of dirt and rubble, their destruction sending out a massive shockwave. Tony glanced back. As the fire and dust of the destroyed drones cleared, seven more rose in their place.

Tony grunted in frustration. "You've gotta be kidd – agh!"

A projectile clipped Tony's shoulder and he was thrown into a momentary uncontrolled downward spiral before he righted himself and fired up his repulsors, blasting off again. The seven drones followed in hot pursuit.

Through the heat of battle, Tony was vaguely aware of another aircraft that had appeared on the horizon, but he didn't have any time to properly register or analyze it with his sensors. His immediate attention was on the drones that continued to come at him from every angle. He fired repulsors at four of them, threw up a cloud of flares to stop a barrage of enemy missiles from finding their target, and executed a complicated evasive pattern at the fastest speed he could manage to avoid the nearest incoming, all the while trying to figure out their ultimate strategy. The drones' attacks were focused and deadly, but at the same time, he got the sense that they were holding back. One minute, it seemed like they were aiming to completely annihilate him; the next, they changed tactics and simply pursued, chasing him in circles over the ocean. And every time he dropped to a lower altitude, several more drones closed in underneath him and drove him higher. It was almost like they were testing him. What was the point of this? The better question: who was controlling them? Tony glanced to the gunships on the horizon. They were holding position, not engaging. That was another thing that bothered him greatly.

"JARVIS, see if you can hack into the communications of the gunships. I need to know what I'm dealing with here."

"_I have been trying, sir, and I have been unsuccessful. The communications frequencies are rotating too rapidly on an unknown algorithm to compensate._"

"What?" Tony couldn't believe what he was hearing. There wasn't a communications system he hadn't been able to hack yet. Okay, now he _really_ wanted to know who these guys were. And where they were getting this technology from. He flew at the drone that had leveled itself the closet to him and punched a hole right through it, hurling it down to the ocean. The Ten Rings were the ones after him, but they didn't have any of their own sophisticated weapons, so they settled for hauling in massive amounts of stolen arms from the black market. The weapons were from everywhere imaginably possible, even the reputable companies; unfortunately, the list included some of his own tech, back from the old era of Stark Industries. Constant arms hauls that big should leave some kind of trail. But there were no records of shipping or transaction whatsoever, and no way to figure out where the money to acquire their arsenal was coming from either. Every lead he chased after Afghanistan was a dead end. Even all the recent missions that Rhodey went on around the world, the Ten Rings always expected their moves. They were always one step ahead, no matter what the military came up with. Which meant these terrorists had a master intelligence behind them. And intelligent bad guys was never a good thing. But these drones – Tony veered to avoid yet another torrent of missiles – such deadly and plentiful technology couldn't just have been stolen. To him, it sure looked like the Ten Rings had found a partner or dealer, willing to supply tech for these murderers in exchange for what was no doubt all the money they could ever want and more. The thought made Tony's blood boil. He was going to figure this out and stop them.

As the fight continued to rage on, however, Tony was quickly becoming fatigued. His stamina was running out and his movements were slowing down as he was pushed further and further to his limits. He took out another drone with a repulsor beam, but flew right into a shot that connected with his side. He winced as he was thrown off-balance, the powerful impact making him tumble through the air. He succeeded in getting his bearings, but his response was delayed; he had taken seconds too long. He braced himself for the imminent attack – but it never came.

Tony whipped around, repulsors at the ready. But the drones weren't attacking. They had broken off pursuit and were now some distance away, circling him. Tony slowly turned in a three-sixty. More drones were coming in from every direction, swirling around him like a vortex. The numbers mounted; forty, fifty sixty... A sinking feeling entered Tony's stomach and he knew there was only going to be one way out of this.

"Charge the big gun, J," Tony panted. His eyes darted back and forth, warily watching all the drones for movement.

"_Are you sure, sir? The new feature in the suit requires a substantial amount of power and you have not yet attempted –"_

"I know the risks! Do it!"

Tony held out his arms, hovering still in the air. The center RT of the suit commenced to surge with energy. A gasp escaped him as he felt the pulsating power mirrored within his own reactor. It was terrifying...but also awesome. The growing energy field reached his gauntlet repulsors, which rapidly charged, crackling with pure energy.

An alert beeped on the display and the drones' signal blips began to rush toward him, all at once. "_Drones coming in hot from all sides,_" JARVIS informed him. "_One hundred meters and closing. Energy output calculated and ready._"

Tony closed his eyes and curled down into the fetal position, feeling the sheer power coursing through him building into an energy sphere around his body.

"_Fifty meters._"

He crossed his arms in front of his chest, gauntlet repulsors palm-up, the energy field intensifying.

"_Twenty meters. Ten. Five._"

Tony unfurled his body and thrust the blazing energy field outward, unleashing the ultimate weapon of the suit; the Repulsor Sphere. His senses overloaded as the blinding light engulfed everything and the deafening thunder of a hundred explosions erupted through the sky. And then suddenly, all that could be heard was silence.

"_Power holding at forty-six percent_."

Tony's arms fell limp by his sides and he opened his eyes, blinking to try to get his vision back in focus. A massive cloud of dust and haze surrounded him, filling his display screens. He couldn't see anything beyond it. Tony brought his hand up against his chest. His chest ached and he felt winded from the overwhelming power it took to generate that move. Nonetheless, the move was certainly a winner. As the dust cloud began to clear, his sensors didn't read anymore incoming threats. There were no more drones attacking him. Was it over? He glanced around, remembering the gunships. They were gone. The battle seemingly over, his attention instantly shifted to the passengers back on land. Pepper. Where was Pepper?

He lowered his altitude, sensors scanning the area where he had dropped off the passengers of the jet before it exploded. He didn't see any of the people, Rhodey, or Pepper, though he _had _commanded them to stay out of the open in case of stray shots. After all, Rhodey didn't have the Iron Patriot suit with him. His scanners found the back of the airstrip and he tensed. The missing gunships were there, flanking a very large aircraft that had landed on the tarmac. The memory of the other aircraft he had fleetingly spotted on the horizon came back. Several more drones hovered around the aircraft, five on each side of the airstrip. At least twenty armed guards also encircled the perimeter of the aircraft and one of the guards held...

"No!"

Fear ripped through Tony's heart as he kicked in his repulsors, charging back down to land. They couldn't hurt Pepper. They couldn't!

"_I wouldn't do that if I were you, Stark_."

The guards suddenly pointed their guns at Pepper and Tony pulled up, coming to an abrupt halt in the air. His eyes darted around the screens on his display, searching for the source of the intruder's voice that had come through the comm. "Who are you?" he growled.

"_All in good time. Now, come down here – slowly – so that we can sort this out like gentleman, and no one need get hurt_."

Anger coursed through Tony, but he did as he was told and slowly lowered down to tarmac. He settled a cautionary distance away as the sentries still had their weapons trained on Pepper, but he stayed hovering several meters above the ground. No way was he going to let his guard down and give up the advantage of flight. He scanned Pepper with his sensors. She was distressed, but at the very least, she was uninjured for the moment.

Just then, the airlock of the aircraft opened and a ramp extended down to the ground. A man stepped out from the inside, dressed in an immaculate gray business suit. His chestnut-brown hair was slicked back and his confident gait and smirk that portrayed his arrogance reminded Tony too much of Justin Hammer. Except this guy was clearly smarter, possessed technology that actually worked, and – Tony clenched his fists – had him in a really bad position right now.

"Well, well, well, the great Tony Stark," the man said, holding his arms out wide in greeting. "What an honor to finally meet you."

Tony narrowed his eyes. "You didn't answer my question. Who the hell are you?"

"Impatient, aren't you? Very well." The man held his arm across his waist and dipped, taking a sweeping bow. "Aldrich Killian at your service."

"Never heard of you."

"No, you wouldn't have." Killian raised his eyes level with Tony's again. "But I'm not mad. We have the opportunity to get acquainted now." He paced slowly across the tarmac in front of the aircraft. "That was quite an impressive show against my drones by the way. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I wanted to test the capabilities of your suit and so, I had them push you harder and harder until you gave me the spectacular finale that I wanted." He smirked. "You did not disappoint."

So, Tony's hunch had been correct. The drones had been a test. This man was trying to toy with him, but he would have none of these mind games. "What do you want?"

"Why so defensive? Really, there's no need for such hostility."

"Says the guy who just made an attempt on my life, blew up my jet, and put a whole bunch of innocent people in danger. Including one right now," Tony answered with a anxious glance at Pepper.

"Relax, Tony," Aldrich said airily, sauntering forward. "I'm not interested in hurting anyone I don't have to. That's not my style. But that's right, you're an impatient man. I forgot. Let's cut to the chase, shall we? There's really only one thing I want from you, and that's the marvelous piece of technology you call yourself one with."

Tony snorted. "Why am I not surprised? Seems like everyone I've ever come across wants the suit."

"The suit would make an excellent addition to my armory, Tony, especially now that I've seen what it can do. But I wasn't talking about the suit." Killian's lips curved upward in a twisted smirk. "I want your – how do you refer to it? Ah yes, the arc reactor."

Tony froze. His reactor? A deep panic began to build in his chest. "What do you want with it?" he asked carefully.

"I am but a simple scientist, Tony," replied Killian. "Technology of such an advanced caliber as yours fascinates me, and the possibilities of such a compact but powerful unit of pure energy are endless. I'd love to have a look at it."

"So you can reverse-engineer it and then sell the specs to the Ten Rings?"

"Why would I need to do that?" Killian answered with a knowing smile. "I'm sure it would acquire an astronomical price somewhere, but no, I don't want to part with it, at least not right away. If I must confess, this is more of a personal agenda. I want the reactor from you."

"Right," Tony replied, voice heavy with sarcasm. "And you just happen to get your hands on my suit as well."

Killian held out his arm in a shrug. "A complimentary benefit."

Tony paused. "If you're working with those dirtbags," he said stiffly, "then you must know what removing the reactor will do to me."

Killian countered Tony's fierce glare, holding his calm gaze steady with the Iron Man mask. "Kill you? I'm aware that could happen. But I'm more than willing to take that chance. So, what's it going to be, Tony? You and your tech for the girl." He gestured dismissively to Pepper. "It's your choice to make."

"Tony, no!" Pepper shouted. She tried to run to him, but was held back.

Tony swallowed painfully. "Say I agree. How do I know you're not just playing me and once I give up the suit, going to kill us both anyway?"

"As I said, I don't like taking lives when I don't have to. But I will do whatever is necessary to achieve my endgame, and I do know how much it would hurt you to lose your precious Potts. Give yourself over and cooperate with us and she will be free to go. You have my word as a gentlemen."

"Not good enough," Tony retorted. "On your life, Killian. Swear it on your life."

Aldrich was silent for a moment before he nodded his head. "Very well," he conceded. "You have my word on my life."

Tony's jaw clenched, his heart pounding, his thoughts racing. How had it come to this? What could he do? He glanced around. The drones and the gunships were still hovering nearby, weapons at the ready, not to mention all the armed guards. He didn't dare try any drastic moves with Pepper right in the line of fire. His attention shifted to Killian again. This man didn't just want his suit and reactor because they were interesting. Once he got his hands on the tech, who knows where it would end up? Most likely, in the possession of the Ten Rings. It would be the disaster of his Jericho missiles all over again. But he didn't have a choice. He looked to Pepper. Her gaze was fixed on him, and he could see the anxiety and fear in her face. He had to, for her sake. She was the most important thing to him and he wasn't going to let her be hurt, or worse, killed.

"Fine," Tony said in resignation. He lowered the last few meters to the ground and then cut his repulsors, landing on the tarmac with a metallic _click_ of his boots.

"Tony, no..." Pepper cried desperately.

Tony stood still and concentrated, directing the suit to disassemble with his mind. The helmet came apart first, followed by the shoulders. The armor continued to unfold downward plate by plate; the chestplate, the torso, then the gauntlets... The pieces of the suit flowed around him in a whirlwind before they folded together and compacted back into a suitcase at his feet, leaving him standing out in the open, exposed.

Killian grinned in satisfaction. He was taking it all in stride, seemingly oblivious to the tension in the air. "Good. Now bring it to me."

Tony bent down and picked up the case, never taking his eyes off of Pepper and Killian. "Let her go first. She has to be safe or no deal."

"Of course." Killian motioned to the guard holding Pepper and the guard pushed her forward. "Move," he commanded.

Pepper stumbled, and Tony fought the urge to run to her, eying the sentries and the weapons aimed straight at them. Any sudden movement could be the end of them both. Luckily, Pepper caught her balance, and stood for a moment, catching Tony's gaze.

Tony took several steps forward, trying to direct her with his eyes, urging her to walk toward him._ 'Come on, Pepper. You've got to move.'_

Tentatively, she took a step toward him and he returned the motion, nodding to her. '_That's right. Keep going_.'

Time seemed to drag on forever as they slowly edged toward each other. It was an exchange, but it may as well have been a death march. They continued on, each searching for some kind of reassurance in the other's face, but finding nothing except a mirror of their own worry and pain.

After what seemed an eternity, they finally reached each other at the halfway mark. Tears streamed down Pepper's face, her eyes pleading with him desperately. "Tony..."

Tony grasped her hand and squeezed it gently between them. "I'm sorry, Pepper," he said softly. He let go of her hand and took the few steps past her, but Pepper reached for him and he saw her knees give out and she was falling...

"Pepper...!" Tony dropped the suitcase and cradled her as they both fell to the ground and she broke down sobbing in his arms.

"Tony, please..." Pepper cried into his shoulder. He could feel her nails digging into his back, she was gripping him so tightly. "You can't do this...you can't!"

"You've gotta listen to me, Pepper," Tony said, fighting back his own despair. They didn't have much time. "You need to get to SHIELD as soon as possible. You hear me? Get to SHIELD, they'll protect you. Don't worry about me, you'll be all right."

Pepper shook her head. "No, Tony...please..."

She continued to sob against him and Tony wrapped his arms around her, holding her as tightly as she held him. He buried his face in her hair, his throat constricting. The one thing he dreaded, the one thing he had countless nightmares about, the one thing he never wanted to happen with all his might since he had made the choice to become a hero, and it was happening. He wanted to give her the comfort she needed, to tell her everything was going to be all right, but there was nothing he could say, nothing he could do. Things weren't going to be all right this time. They both knew that. Tony closed his eyes and drew in a shuddering breath. "I'm so sorry, Pepper," he whispered, tears falling down his own cheeks. "I want you to know...that you're the best...thing that ever happened to me. I...love you."

"I...l-love you too, Tony..." Pepper whispered back.

They moved slightly apart, looking into each other's eyes and then they embraced in a passionate kiss, clinging to each other as if the world were ending. For one moment in time, they were the only ones there, together, and nothing else mattered.

And then, in an instant, the world shattered around them and he was being pulled away from her. Two guards grabbed him roughly by his arms and hauled him to his feet and another took the fallen suitcase armor.

"Tony!" Pepper screamed.

Tony looked desperately back at her as he was being dragged away. She was still kneeling on the ground, her hand outstretched, reaching for him... '_Pepper..._' The guards forced him to turn away as they stopped in front of Killian. Tony struggled against their grip on his arms, regarding the man in front him with a glare of fiercest anger.

Aldrich looked Tony up and down slowly like he was appraising a prize. His eyes settled hungrily on the reactor in the center of his chest and he pressed his hand to it. "Very good," he finally said, looking Tony in the eye.

Tony grit his teeth. It was taking every ounce of strength he possessed not to fight them right there, right then. What he wouldn't give to rip this man apart. Forget the suit; he'd do it with his bare hands. "I'll cooperate, but I swear, if you bastards so much as lay one hand on her..."

"I'm a man of my word," Killian answered. "She won't be harmed." He gestured to the ramp of his aircraft. "I hope you enjoy the accommodations." He turned to the guards. "Escort him to the medical ward to ensure his continued cooperation. He'll be prepared for the arc reactor's immediate removal. And lock up the suit. I know all about your little trick, Tony."

Tony tried to lunge at Killian, but before he could, the guards were forcing him to move again up the ramp into the waiting aircraft. The rest of the guards, as well as Killian, trailed behind them as the rumble of the engines started in the pre-ignition sequence. Tony could hear the drones kick in their propulsion as they took flight, preparing to follow.

"Pepper!"

Tony twisted to look behind him at the voice that had called Pepper's name. Rhodey was running out to her on the tarmac. Where had he been? He must have been hiding nearby, staying out of sight of the battle.

"Take care of her!" Tony shouted to Rhodey.

Rhodey reached Pepper and knelt down beside her. He nodded to Tony and shouted something back, but the full force of the engines kicked in at that point and his words were drowned out. The aircraft began to rise. This was goodbye. Tony felt like his heart may have stopped already, so great was the pain of it breaking. He held Pepper's gaze for as long as he could, looking into her tear-stained face until the ramp lifted...and closed.

Numbness was all that filled Tony inside and out as he was led through hall after hall, the white sterile walls blending into each other, indistinguishable. The long corridors vaguely reminded him of the Helicarrier, the way they seemed to stretch on forever. Armed guards flanked him on all sides, but Killian made sure he walked of his own accord, looking very pleased that he was forcing Tony to seal his own fate. Tony couldn't stop thinking about Pepper, a part of himself left there with her, even though he was now thousands of feet in the air with the aircraft still continuing to climb. He'd have to rely on Rhodey to keep her safe from now on.

All too soon, the guards stopped at a room off to the right, which Tony assumed must be the medical ward. It was another white, sterile room like the rest of the ship that made him want to run for his life. Technicians dressed all in blue – whether they were doctors or scientists, he didn't know – moved around the room, working tools and machines. In the center of the room was a low, padded operating chair. The pounding of his heart quickened if that was even possible. It must have been sensing its impending stop.

The guards pushed him forward into the room and Aldrich came striding in behind him. He gestured around the ward, smirking. "Your new accommodations, Mr. Stark. Take off your shirt."

Very aware of the guns pointed at him, Tony reluctantly did as he was told. He removed his shirt and let it fall to the floor, leaving him in just his jeans and sneakers.

"Now, lie down."

Tony didn't move, hesitating in fear. '_No_...'

The guards stepped up behind him to force him to the operating chair, but Killian's voice interrupted. "Don't interfere. Tony will do this on his own."

Tony heard the guards' footsteps retreat, but still, for several more minutes, he did not move. He stood frozen, wishing with everything he had that this wasn't happening, but there was nothing to stop it. He swallowed hard. There was no way out. Slowly, he walked to the chair, sat down on the side, and then shifted fully onto it.

As Tony laid back and the ceiling lights blinded his vision, he had never felt so desperate, so exposed, so vulnerable in his life. The doctors moved in. They guided his arms to the armrests and he clenched his fists as restraints were fastened over his wrists, holding him down. A blanket was draped over him, covering him from the waist down and Tony winced as needles were inserted into his arms and they hooked him up to an IV and monitors for his vitals. '_What for_?' Tony thought derisively. '_If they don't plan on keeping me alive anyway._'

"Comfortable?" Killian asked, stepping up to the chair.

Tony grinded his teeth, the technicians still moving around him. "The reactor isn't something you can just take out. It's connected to me with a hundred different ways unauthorized removal can go wrong."

"Oh, I'm aware of that, Tony," Aldrich answered, looking down at him. "I've done my research, including many hours studying a special set of blueprints of your precious reactor." He trailed his finger over the reactor's casing and then gripped it with his hand. "I assure you my team is the most highly qualified and trained." He smirked. "They'll do their very best to ensure that there is no damage to the reactor. You won't feel a thing."

Tony's eyes went wide. "Blueprints of my...? Where did you get–"

"A highly reputable source that does very good business. A source who knows a lot about you, I might add. But you don't need to know the details." The aircraft shook with a rumble and Killian looked up, drawing away from Tony. "That'll be what's left of the drones returning. I'm needed on the bridge." He motioned to the doctors. "Carry on here."

"Killian!" Tony growled as the other man walked away. Killian exited the ward without another word or a glance back. How did they get a hold of those schematics? A source who knew a lot about him? What did that mean? If there was someone leaking information at Stark Industries...

The doctors moved the monitors in closer around him, and an oxygen mask was lowered onto his face. Tony tensed as they secured it and the sound of his own breathing filled his ears. This was it. They were going to take the reactor out. He...wasn't going to wake up from this.

Tony felt his strength quickly leaving him and his eyelids suddenly felt so heavy as the sedative took effect. It was too strong...he couldn't fight it. His eyes closed and he was barely clinging to consciousness. The last thing he saw in his mind was Pepper's face...and then his world faded into darkness.

* * *

**Author's note: **Wow, that was...emotional. *sniffs* How do you think it ends? Does the angst have a happy ending where Tony is rescued by Pepper, Rhodey, and SHIELD? Or is this the end of Iron Man? Let me know in a review. Who knows? I might write a sequel to this one day. For now, see you readers later! I'm off to enjoy Iron Man 3! ~UniverseDreams


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